Obituaries

Bryan Michael Kisiel

Bryan Michael Kisiel, 44, formerly of Shoreham, N.Y., passed away on May 24, 2023, in Greensburg, Pa. 

He was the beloved son of Donald and Bonnie (née Tomaszewski); cherished brother to Lara (Michael) Asirvadem and Stephen (Kristina) Kisiel; and proud uncle to Lucas, Noah and Juliana. 

Bryan was a graduate of Shoreham-Wading River High School and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), where he majored in computer science and minored in mathematical sciences. He had an exceptional computational mind and was awarded a B.S. degree with university honors in 2001. Following his graduation, he remained at CMU as a senior research programmer and analyst at the School of Computer Science’s Language Technologies Institute, and later the Machine Learning Department. Bryan collaborated with teams working on a variety of grant-funded programs, most notably NELL (Never Ending Language Learning), and co-authored numerous computer science papers. He was recognized with a Staff Service Award for his long employment, with gratitude for his loyal and devoted service. 

Bryan was a great lover of music with eclectic tastes, and enjoyed playing violin, bass guitar and piano/keyboard. Communing with nature was both his passion and his relaxation. He loved hiking and camping during many family visits to national parks. And he found deep satisfaction in things that grow, from his grandparents’ farm to his own small vegetable patches in his chosen city of Pittsburgh, the site of many adventures and misadventures with his treasured college friends. 

As a lover of all things mechanical and electrical, Bryan was an enthusiastic audiophile, knew his way around a circuit board and was never as happy as when he was elbow-deep into his car engine — just because he loved machines and how they worked. He was known to build, readapt or fix almost anything. He was an avid reader with a particular interest in philosophy, economics and politics, and had a unique way with words. He was known for his wry sense of humor and quick wit, as well as his big heart. 

Bryan is sorely missed by his loving family and friends. A memorial service in celebration of his life will be held in Shoreham later this summer. Interment will take place in the family plot at St. John the Baptist Cemetery in Riverhead, N.Y. 

To celebrate his life, we have set up a memorial grove in Bryan’s name through an organization called Trees for a Change. We invite family and friends to add to the grove: www.treesforachange.com/products/custom-grove-of-trees.

This is a paid notice.